Chester festival returns, adding music and new exhibits
Acoustic trio Moon Hollow, with Tim Cardiello, Charlie Peckar and John Jamison, performs at the Chester Festival on the Green on Saturday. (Gareth Henderson Photo)
Reconnecting. It’s been a theme of 2021, and it was certainly happening for those attending the Chester Festival on the Green on Saturday in downtown Chester, Vermont.
The annual two-day festival has made its return after last year’s cancellation due to the pandemic, and it’s got several new features this time around — live music and agricultural exhibits and games, with a hay maze nearby. A variety of food vendors have been added, too. All this brought a big crowd in the mid-morning hours and into the afternoon.
“I just like the fact that I ran into a bunch of people I haven’t seen for a couple of years,” said Brendan D’Angelo, of Windsor, who was there with some friends Saturday afternoon.
One of them, Faith Wood, is the bassist with The Break Maids, performing in the music line-up, today, Sept. 19. Wood lives in Chester and was enjoying the atmosphere on the festival’s first day back in 2021.
“I just love the fact that it’s outside, just a nice walk in a great, little town,” she said.
The festival has been going for over 40 years, forming an event hub for many crafters and artisans in the region. But this weekend, as people checked out the various vendor booths on the Green and nearby, they’ve heard festival committee member Barre Pinske on his bullhorn, gently reminding people there’s new stuff this time. Saturday brought a great turnout.
“I believe we killed it,” he said. “It’s been awesome.”
People check out the various vendor tents in Chester on Saturday. (Gareth Henderson Photo)
Pinske said the new additions to the festival were well received.
“If you drive here or you’re visiting, now you get to experience more things,” he said.
Ashley Cormack, owner of the Little Art Supply Store downtown, which she just opened on Labor Day, said mid-afternoon Saturday that she’d seen double the amount of cars arriving in town, compared to when she moved here and experienced the festival in 2018. Some of that traffic came into the store as well.
“We’ve gotten a lot more people than we normally get on a Saturday,” Cormack said.
Outside, just across the street on the Green, Cormack’s grandmother, Betty Rounds, was doing what she’s done for decades: selling her hand-made sweaters for children and other knitted creations at her tent. She's been knitting since she was a child growing up in Chester, having picked up the skill from her grandparents and her aunt.
"I guess it’s in the family," she said with a smile, as several customers checked out the items in her tent Saturday afternoon. The crowds were there in droves by late morning, she said.
Here are some of the sweaters by Betty Rounds, a longtime vendor at Chester’s annual festival. (Gareth Henderson Photo)
Some festival-goers enjoyed hanging out and listening to the live music, located behind the Fullerton Inn and Restaurant downtown. The stage was set far back from some bleachers and the lawn, with food and drink offered nearby. In the nearby parking lot, a tractor would occasionally arrive to give wagon rides.
On Saturday, Royalton-based musician Ali T and her band were providing the musical entertainment in the evening until 8 p.m. She was excited to join her friends on stage, since she usually performs solo. The band includes Bobby Gagnier, Skip Truman and Ed Eastridge — a Grammy award-winning sound engineer.
“It’s a nice opportunity to join my full band for change,” Ali T said, after checking out the hay maze on Saturday.
The 2021 Chester festival’s final day is today, Sept. 19, with vendors and exhibits going until 4 p.m., and music from noon to 6 p.m. For more information, check out the website.
— Gareth Henderson
Kids, adults and pets alike enjoyed the new hay maze at the Chester festival. (Gareth Henderson Photo)
